


Roots to Grow and Wings to Fly

by lyonessheart



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Drama, M/M, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-12
Updated: 2014-03-12
Packaged: 2018-01-15 11:12:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1302775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyonessheart/pseuds/lyonessheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They say a child need roots to grow and wings to fly. But learning to fly can be painful for all those involved. Draco knows he has raised his son better than this – so what is going on all of a sudden, now that he has moved in with Harry?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roots to Grow and Wings to Fly

**Author's Note:**

> Dear **nattish** I have tried to fit in as much of your prompt as you requested, but somehow your special request refused to be integrated explicitly. In my mind Draco needs to be taken care of more in this story, but I am absolutely not good with sex so this story lacks detailed descriptions of sex to be honest. I hope you like what I have done with your idea; I had a lot of fun writing this. Al does make an appearance but I hope I have avoided your squicks.
> 
> A huge thank you goes to the lovely **sophie_french** who has encouraged me again and again. And my wonderful betareader **mab** who took care of all my mistakes. Without you two this story would not be what it is now!

**Roots to grow and wings to fly,**

On the day that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy moved into their new family home, it was raining cats and dogs. In hindsight it should have been a bad omen, but on that day they were more concerned with getting everything inside without it soaking through despite the Impervius Charms that they had cast over all the boxes.

The cottage they had chosen was a compromise. While Harry would have preferred a more city central location, Draco had grown up in the country and was reluctant to give up the freedom a more secluded location would provide for them and their family.

So they had chosen this beautiful cottage, which was roomy and friendly while still exuding an air of calm elegance. Harry had fallen instantly in love with the arched ceilings and oak beams supporting the structure.

They were combined with an open kitchen and a cooking island that practically screamed family time. Topped off with a fireplace sporting an elegant mantle that would allow Harry easy access to his job in the city, the cottage also sported a large garden which hopefully would see many impromptu Quidditch matches in the future.

Draco had found a study for himself where he could work to keep the Malfoy lands and holdings up to par and a small but complete potions lab for recreational purposes.

The cottage had an abundance of bedrooms; one for themselves kept in soft cream-tones to compliment the oak beams, with a massive four-poster bed and a cherrywood chest of drawers.

The kids’ bedrooms would be finished only when the kids came back from Hogwarts, but they had furnished every one with the existing furniture and hoped that Scorpius, James, Albus and Lily would love their new quarters.

For another few weeks it would be just them and then they would all be home for the summer hols. Hopefully the first of many good times to come. Seeing as James was close to 17 already, and Scorpius and Albus neared the ripe old age of 16, they were aware that the house might be too big soon, but with all of their friends and kids, they were sure that the house would never feel empty to them.

(If someone had told Draco years ago, that he would find love and care in the arms of Harry Potter, he probably would have hexed them into oblivion, and yet here he was moving the last of his boxes into the new home they both had chosen together.)

Harry smiled fondly at his partner. Draco was deep in thought, trying to sort through the mess that all the wet boxes had caused on the polished hardwood floor.

“This is going to take ages.” Draco’s sigh was almost inaudible.

“Come love, don´t fret, we are wizards, as you like to remind me. I am sure we will sort this out in no time, and then we will have time to snuggle in front of the fireplace with a lovely glass of red wine”

“Harry it is May. Why on earth would you want to sit in front of the fireplace when we have a perfect terrace to use?”

“Because, darling – it is still raining in case you did not notice.“ Harry smiled at his frazzled lover, and if his green eyes twinkled a bit mischievously – well Draco loved him all the more for it.

This was how they were, always teasing and challenging one another.

“Okay, you mighty wizard, then please be my guest and sort this with magic.” Draco took a step back and folded his arms over his chest. Not that he would ever admit it out loud, but he got severely turned on by Harry’s infrequent displays of powerful magic.

Harry's brow furrowed as he concentrated and directed each box with a wave of his wand into the room it belonged. A couple more swishes and flicks, and all of the contents went into the drawers and cupboards where they belonged. Pots lined up in the kitchen and glasses arranged themselves into the vitrines above the bar.

Draco shivered as he felt the soft caress of Harry’s magic.

To be honest it had been that soft caress that had prevented him from running away the first time they had met again.

He had stood on the London tower bridge and watched the sun go down. It had been a cold but dry October day and London had been chilly. His breath had produced little puffs of fog in front of his face and he had forgotten to cast a warming charm. But he hadn't wanted to go home to the empty Manor and so had remained watching the people rush about.

Suddenly, he had felt that gentle caress of magic and had felt so warm and cosy immediately. He had not really been surprised to see Harry Potter standing half way across the bridge from him, a hesitant smile on his face, as if he expected to be hexed where he stood.

Draco still revelled in the surprise on Harry’s face when he raised his arm and beckoned him over.

“Hey, Malfoy.” Harry had had that half smile on his face, as if he still wasn't sure how he would be received.

“Hello, Potter.” Draco had smiled in that irresistible manner, that made Harry’s knees go weak every single time.

“So, care to tell me why you are standing on the London tower bridge, gazing out over the Thames?”

“Just thinking about life. Scorpius is in his fifth year at Hogwarts and I just feel a bit maudlin.”

Harry shuffled a bit from side to side; it had been too cute for words – not that Draco would ever admit to it – before he burst out with the question.

“Would you like to have dinner with me?” His face had been flushed and he had looked as if he would have liked to run at the slightest hint of rejection.

Draco had been taken a tiny bit aback by that blatant display of interest, but then again, after his very public divorce, the wizarding world was well aware of his sexual preferences. Although he hadn't heard anything about Potter’s orientation, he decided that he might as well get a free dinner out of it, and it had been way too long since he had been out.

And that had been the beginning.

Dinners quickly had turned into evenings spent together discussing anything and everything. For weeks Draco had wondered if he had misread Harry, because when he had asked him about his preferences, Harry had been adamant that he wasn't gay.

But evenings spent sitting in cosy restaurants and drinking wine, talking, visiting museums and strolling through parks, closer than mere friends should be, had kept him wondering.

When they had spent nearly every evening together for almost two weeks, Harry had asked him all of a sudden: “How did you know?” And somehow Draco knew just what he had asked about.

“Well you know it is different for each of us, some know immediately, some only find out when they are 50 and have grown up kids. They just wonder why it never felt completely right with their wife. For me it was easy - one look at Zabini's body in fifth year, and I knew what the clock was tolling – it helped that he gave a spectacular blow job too, but I still knew that I would have to get married and produce an heir, and that I have never regretted. Scorpius is the best thing I have ever managed.”

Harry had blushed beetroot red and dropped the issue, but had found ways to inquire more about Draco’s lifestyle. Draco had shared it freely, secretly amused by Harry's coming to terms with this revelation and only slightly nudging him along.

And if he touched Harry a bit more than was strictly necessary, well who was to tell on him? Of course it didn't hurt that he still looked very good and took great care in his appearance.

The wait came to fruition, when one Saturday evening Harry had been looking at him for the entire time as if he had something on his face. Draco, being the Slytherin he was, simply asked him: “What is it, Harry? Do I need to wash my face? You are doing an awful lot of staring tonight.” To which Harry had responded: “Please don´t kill me or hex me, but I need to do something.”

Before he could have done more than raise an inquisitive eyebrow, he had been kissed. And what a kiss that had been. Never before had anyone made him so weak in the knees, and he had to clutch helplessly at Harry’s arms which had been wrapped around him. Harry had laughed breathlessly and said: “Well, that is one thing for sure – even if I am not a hundred percent sure that I am gay, I am definitely Dracosexual.”

And thus they had proceeded to explore Harry’s new-found attraction to his own sex.

Somehow along the way they had fallen in love. Moving in together had just been a natural consequence. Was it fast? Maybe, but then again, they were now close to 40 and felt that they knew if a relationship would work.

Draco had been apprehensive about telling his son, but he knew that it would be unfair to present Scorpius with a new live-in partner without warning, especially since Harry had been a teacher at Hogwarts for some time, and even taught a class with Scorpius in it. But he had quit at the end of Albus’s fourth year. 

Draco thought that it had gone as well as one could expect. Scorpius hadn't said much, just asked: “Are you happy?” and once he had confirmed it, only nodded and said he was quite busy and would see him at the trainstation in June.

A hand on his shoulder tore him from his musings.

“Earth to Draco, are you with me?”

Turning to his partner, he smiled,

“Just reminiscing how much has happened in the last couple of months, and hoping that all our kids will get along.”

“You fret too much; everything will work out just fine, and right now I would like to enjoy the rainy afternoon with more pleasurable activities concerning you and our new bed. Who knows how many chances we will have in the next two months with the kids around.”

Little did they know that nothing would be fine, once the kids were at home.

\-------------------------------------

Scorpius Malfoy dreaded the summer holidays. It wasn't that he didn't love his father, but to be around him 24/7 for eight weeks would be hell. There was no one that he could talk to, no one that would understand. 

He was well aware that most people would shake their heads and mumble something about crushes and that it would go away over time, but he was fifteen, almost sixteen. He knew what the difference between a crush and love was. His love was not perfect by far, and he still wanted him with all his heart, but he also knew that he would never have him.

They say that there is no crueller love than that which is unrequited – and unfortunately it is a love that all teenagers have to endure.

Scorpius and his father had always been close. His mother left when Scorpius was five and moved to France. He didn't miss her all that much, seeing as she always preferred the company of her jewels to his, and left him to the care of his father and the house-elves early on. Suffice to say that Scorpius realised soon, that their marriage was not one of love, but of convenience, and thus he latched onto the one person who showered him with affection, who always put him before his own needs, who loved him unconditionally and he loved him back.

Now he was on the way to hell. And nothing could stop this. If anybody would have opened the door to the department which Scorpius occupied alone, he would have seen a broken boy, with a single tear tracking down his cheek, that had escaped the famous Malfoy restraint.

But nobody did.

Hours later, Scorpius got up and dressed appropriately. He grabbed his trunk and squared his shoulders. He would survive this – somehow.

He stepped off the train, momentarily deafened and blinded by the noise and light, and although he despised the ruckus his schoolmates made, it gave him a brief respite from the pain he would feel the moment his eyes found his father and the man that now was his boyfriend.

Seeing Harry and Draco standing so close together, their hands firmly entwined felt like an ice-cold shower. Harry let go and embraced his children with carefree laughter.

His own father smiled invitingly at him and beckoned him closer. He tried, he really tried, but all that would leave his mouth was a frosty greeting.

“Hello, Father – Hello, Mr Potter.”

His father looked as if he had been slapped, and Scorpius wanted nothing more in that moment than to break down and cry. But he didn't, he squared his shoulders and moved on. “Can we leave now?”

Draco took his trunk and Apparated him to the new house. But not without a look that told him that there would be words about this greeting.

The house was beautiful really, and Scorpius thought that he could have felt at home here, but right now all he felt was the bleak despair of a man forced to remain in a situation he would have rather fled. Before they could force him to say anything, he excused himself to unpack, and disappeared into the room they had chosen for him. It would be a long 8 weeks until he could leave this house once again. He just hoped that they would be sensitive enough to keep the demonstrations of love, on a low level. His hopes were dashed though, when he came down for the dinner that his father had called him to.

His father was being kissed right at that very moment. The tenderness in that gesture was so very visible that he felt gutted looking at them together; they looked so good, so right. God knows where the words came from, but suddenly they were there.

“I think I'm going to be sick.” Seeing them jump apart as if burned gave him a sick sense of satisfaction and he topped it off with a sneer. “Kindly refrain from shoving your tongue down my father’s throat while I am around, unless you plan on putting me permanently off my dinner.”

Harry mumbled an excuse and they settled down for dinner. The Potter siblings looked at him as if he was a strange specimen, but Scorpius knew that he was on his own in this household.

\-------------------------------------------

_Notebook of Scorpius Malfoy_

_I have been called cruel, selfish and a cold-hearted bastard by my forced live in companions. Well to be precise, the Potter siblings call me that, and yes, they are right. All I want is to get away from the pain, but I can´t. It is unfair but it is to be expected. After all they don´t know how hard it is to watch them so obviously in love and so oblivious to the pain others feel around them._

_I should tell this from the beginning, maybe then you'll understand._

_I cannot count the number of times that I have been told as a child “You look just like your father“ same hair, same eyes, same stance. But where he has always had that air of self-assurance that I admired so much about him and that I wanted so desperately for myself; I am, unfortunately, a shy person._

_I prefer the company of books to that of people. I guess being spit upon whenever we showed our face in Diagon Alley does that to a person – looking back, I know that my father put on a façade to keep up appearances – but then all I saw was a man standing proud and tall up to those who sneered and shouted at us._

_We seldom ventured out anymore and I learned about history and potions and early charm work from my father – who contrary to the common beliefs had an endless amount of patience when it came to my questions and inquiries. My father didn't paint himself in any better light than he deserved, and thus I knew about the role the Malfoy family had played in the second war and about the roles of other families, like the Weasleys and of course Harry Potter._

_My father always said that Harry was one of a kind, someone who gave second chances just because he felt that everyone deserved them. He spoke of him with a quiet reverence that I didn't understand back then. The years passed by and all that we knew was what we read in the Daily prophet – although father always said to take their “tripe“ with more than a grain of salt. He told me later that Harry Potter had married his school sweetheart and they had three kids – James, a year older than me, and Albus who was my age. Then, when they had the third one, Lily, Ginevra Potter died unexpectedly, leaving Harry to raise his children alone._

_As soon as I was old enough to understand what ”being a widower“ meant, I asked my father why Harry Potter did not get married again, because surely there was another woman out there who would be willing to spend the rest of her life with him. He looked so gentle and kind in all of those pictures. My father looked at me with a strange smile and said that Harry focused on his family and that his kids probably came first before dating._

_“Just like you, dad?“ I remember that I smiled at him and felt so loved when his hand stroked my hair and he said - “Nothing will ever come before you.“ I don't think he remembers that now._

_I guess it all began to go wrong when I entered Hogwarts. That day at the platform I saw Harry for the first time – he brought his sons to the train and he smiled and laughed with them. He saw us and his eyes widened a fraction before he nodded to my father, gave me a small wave and a smile. Father only nodded back, and gave me advice on how to make friends. But I felt like something had happened in that moment – I was eleven – of course there was no way I would feel love or attraction – but I felt noticed. I thought someone had seen me and deemed me important enough to acknowledge._

_During the travel to Hogwarts I made up my mind, I wanted people to see me. I loved my father but I wanted to be seen as myself, no longer just “Draco Malfoy`s son.“ James sneered at me when he crossed the train and said something about another Slytherin in the making. And I made up my mind that Slytherin would be the last house I would accept._

_Sitting on that stool with the hat on my head appeared to take an eternity – because I was shaking inside. I remember the conversation going along these lines:_

_“Ah another Malfoy – and yes a thirst to prove himself – well you will do well in..._

_“If you say Slytherin I will get up and leave“_

_“Oh now that is interesting – why would you leave?“_

_“Because in Slytherin all I will ever be is Draco Malfoy’s son – and I love my dad but...“_

_“Hm what to do - what to do, well then off you go to RAVENCLAW”_

_And that was that – I got sorted into Ravenclaw and I have done well in my studies. But still everybody called me the Malfoy heir. And they treated me like I was everything my father was at that age – I cannot begin to count the sneers and pushes, and if I retaliated – I got “Just like his father was” – so I stopped defending myself. It was a lonely year, but I thought when I got home I would be able to find a solution with my dad._

_I tried telling him about it when I came home after the first year, but he was absent and distracted. News of the divorce had been big during the year. I couldn't get through to him. All he said was that I would surely make friends soon and then everything would be all right._

_Determined to get over my shyness, I tried to try out for the Quidditch team, but all they wanted to allow me was Seeker- because the Malfoys had always been Seekers. Needless to say, I gave up trying to make anyone see me Scorpius realizing that to them I would never be more than a carbon copy of my father’s younger self. I drew further into myself._

_Thus when Harry Potter became my professor, I was resigned to spend my years in Hogwarts with only my books as company._

_But to my surprise, he saw me – and he always took the time to answer my questions; he drew me out and encouraged me. With him I felt like more than the Malfoy scion. He always called me by my given name: Mr Scorpius, and always had a smile for me._

_When I turned fourteen, I had my first wet dream starring him. I dreamed of kisses and hands caressing my skin. I dreamed of being held, and of bodies sweaty underneath the sheets. And beyond all, I remember the expression in his eyes- they looked at me as if I was the center of his entire universe. Even after I woke up - the expression in his eyes stayed with me._

_I was devastated, because I mean, why would Harry Potter, who could have anyone, look at a fourteen year old scrawny teenager? I mean, of course he isn't perfect with his slight build and the glasses, and he has a temper that he tries to hide, but to me he is wonderful in every way._

_He treated me with a kindness that I had never experienced before, and more than once I longed to just go up to him and kiss him, but I didn't, I loved him from afar._

_I know that my classmates feel that I am strange, but that doesn't matter. Because I was content to wait until school was finished and I am of age – then I would make my move._

_Then again – life isn't what we dream of – he quit teaching at the end of my fourth year and left Hogwarts. It hurt, but still I was content to wait for another three years to grow up and then find him and convince him of giving me a chance. How was I supposed to know just how cruel life would be?_

_I´ll never forget that day when my father visited me in Hogsmeade. He had said that he wanted to tell me something important. And then he dropped the bomb._

_Knowing that he was dating someone and knowing he was moving in with Harry were two different pair of shoes. I felt like he put a knife to my heart and yet all I said was: “Are you happy?”_

_What was I supposed to do? Rant and rave at him? Tell him he was breaking my heart? Ask him not to move in with Harry? I could have, maybe, if his simple answer hadn't been “Very happy” and that was that._

_Seeing them together every day, it brings out a side of me that I don't like, but still I can't bear seeing it without getting at least a bit of my own back. I know Father hopes for a happy family, but maybe it is time that he learns as well that life can be cruel sometimes._

_End Notebook Scorpius_

\---------------------------------------

Draco was exhausted and bewildered. His son had been acting so strangely that he wasn't sure he really had Scorpius in the house and not someone polyjuiced into the kid he had raised for the last 15 years.

“That could have gone better.”

Warm arms closed around his waist and he leaned back into the strong chest behind him.

“I don´t get it, he seemed fine when I told him, and now he acts as if we are the most disgusting thing that he has ever seen. Harry, you would have told me if you had been at odds with him during school, right? I mean you have seen him more than I have for three years.”

“Trust me, I am as baffled as you are – Scorpius has always been a quiet kid, but I felt like he was comfortable in Charms and that we got along well. He has a smart head and he mostly kept to himself. I don't think he has all that many friends in school and my kids don´t know that much about him either. He used to spend a lot of time in my office just researching and reading. Maybe it isn't you, but me he is mad at, after all I never gave him any inkling that I might be interested in you?”

Draco snuggled deeper into Harry’s embrace and sighed. “I just hope he adjusts to the new circumstances soon. He looks so miserable, but he has to learn that I won't give you up for his comfort.”

The tender kiss he received made him sigh in an entirely different manner and they retreated to their bedroom, where they took strength from another and pleasure. 

Unfortunately, Scorpius did not give his father the wanted respite, and thus the tone in the new Potter-Malfoy household was set in a rather disparaging way.

“Kindly keep your paws of each other while I am around. I have no desire whatsoever to see you snog or grope each other. It is absolutely unbecoming and shows little to no dignity on both of your parts.” Scorpius announced as they were preparing breakfast the next day. 

Harry had had his hands on the small of Draco’s back, and they had been quietly enjoying their time together, drinking coffee, but had jumped apart as if burned at the unkind remark.

They kept apart for most of the day, but before dinner that night, Harry held Draco in an embrace, just to enjoy their closeness for a moment. Scorpius entered the kitchen, and his eyes traveled over their bodies, Draco was sure there was nothing indecent about their posture and allowed himself to relax for a fraction.

His relaxation was shot though at Scorpius’s next remark.

“I am trying to eat – don't make me throw up.“

The bang of his door announced that his offspring had left the kitchen once again. Draco sighed. “What am I going to do with him?”

“We’ll give him time, I am sure he just needs to adjust to the new situation, and the question must be worded differently anyways.” Laugh lines crinkled Harry's eyes. “What are we going to do with him?”

On the next day when Scorpius came into the kitchen, Draco dropped the plates that he held in his hands. His son’s erstwhile blond head was now bright blue.

“Why did you do that for?”

Draco spluttered.

“I felt like it. I didn't like what I was looking at every morning.”

“What do you mean? You looked like a Malfoy.”

“Exactly, who wants to look like the savior’s fuck toy anyway?” With that he turned his back and prepared to leave. 

“Scorpius Hyperion Abraxas Malfoy, you will not talk to me in this way!”

His son’s next words chilled Draco to the bone and left him speechless.

“Well Father, if you insist on exerting parental discipline I suggest you earn it – behaving like a slut and spreading your legs for Mr Potter certainly does not help.“ With that he finally rushed out of the kitchen- bumping into Al on the way out, snarling: “Move it you big oaf.” 

Albus came in. “What has got into him? He was such a quiet guy at Hogwarts, one might have thought him invisible.”

“I have no idea, Al, I wish I knew the answer.”

Afterwards, Scorpius ignored every one of their attempts to get through to him, punishments just pearled off him like water off a duck’s back. He became even more sullen and withdrawn, didn't speak more than necessary and declined every offer of spending time with them as a family.

Things came to a head when Draco tried to force him to spend time with them all.

“I don't want to spend _quality time_ with the family. This here is a travesty! I accept that I have to live with you. I have to accept that you are a couple, and I have no issue with you being a homosexual, but I have an issue with you pushing it into my face at every turn. I hate this, Father, I hate being here! You want me to accept you and be happy for you? Well, Dad – be as happy as you want – but don't expect me to partake in this farce you are calling a family. Albus, James and Lily might be all right with it, but I am not. You force me to live with you, and you have that right for yet another year. But as soon as I am seventeen, you will lose any authority that you hold. I cannot wait for September to come so that I can FINALLY get out of here.“

Draco reared back as if slapped and said in a quiet voice: “Please go to your room, Scorpius. If you find it so offensive to spend time with us, I suggest you spend it doing things on your own. I am sorry you feel like this is a farce, but be sure that I still love you.” He turned away from his son and thus missed the silent tears that coursed down his face.

Draco left the house with Harry and the other kids. If Scorpius insisted on staying behind, he had no way of forcing him to attend. They had the planned picnic, but no matter how hard his “stepkids” as Draco had come to think of them - tried - they couldn't cheer him up. His thoughts cruised around his son and his impudent behaviour lately. It was almost as if Scorpius would only be happy if he drove Harry and him apart. Subconsciously, he curled deeper into Harry’s side. Would he really have to choose between his only son and the man he was in love with? 

As if Harry could read his mind he spoke up.

“You know it is not really my place to say anything, and God knows you have tried often enough lately, but maybe you should talk to him once more? I mean there has to be a reason he is acting up so much, maybe he feels like you are neglecting him for me and the other kids? I love you and I don't mind stepping back for a few days so that he can have you all to himself.” 

Harry kissed his forehead tenderly and made him smile once again. He steeled his resolve to talk once more to his son.

He entered Scorpius’s room. It was empty - but on the bed a black little notebook lay open. Before he could question the moral implications of reading his son’s diary, he took it with him.  
Settled on his own bed, he began reading what had been written during the last couple of weeks. Was that a Slytherin thing to do? Maybe yes, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

_I never thought them to be so deliberately cruel – but looking at them together, knowing that they know how I feel or at least suspect it – I think this is cruel. Pushing their love into my face at each turn, being offended when I take offense. They are a selfish pair of bastards who actually expect me to stand there and just let them have everything I want, and just accept it. Of course they know no one could want me – the cheap imitation of Draco Malfoy! Harry might not want me, but I will not just stand there and be the little doll they expect me to be..._

Draco was white as a wall as he dropped the notebook. 

Now he knew why Scorpius acted this way, the level of pain his only son felt every day, and the hatred that poured off the last page.

He had to talk to his son.

When he entered Scorpius’s room, his son looked at him with indifference, but he knew him well enough to see the hurt lurking deep in his eyes. Draco was determined to have it out in the open now for once and for all.

“All right, Scorpius, I am done with the games. I know I have displeased you by living with Harry and I am sorry that you are unhappy, but this has got to stop, I want to know now what we have done to deserve this.”

His son’s face closed off and his mouth set in a hard line. To see him like this tore at Draco's heartstrings, but then again, he was sick and tired of having to hide his affection for the man that he loved just because Scorp was in a strop about it. He was so caught up in his own thoughts, he almost missed the beginning of Scorpius’s answer.

“You don't get it do you, Father?“

“Why do you hate Harry so much? What has he ever done to you?“

The sharp hard sound that he got instead of an answer was the single most heart wrenching thing Draco had ever heard from his son. When he looked at him - really looked at him – understanding hit him like a ton of bricks, he had to sit down under the force of the awful realization that crashed over him.

Minutes seemed to stretch into hours. 

“Just leave me alone – both of you. Don't try to fix something that even you can't fix.“

The dismissal stung. Staying right now though, was not an option. The soft click of the door closing rang loudly in his ears and he felt numb when he entered the kitchen. Harry stood there cooking for their family, a family he would probably rip apart with his next words.

“I know what is wrong with Scorpius.“ His voice rang hollow in his ears.

The concerned look that crossed Harry’s face – made his heart swell with love, and it ached so deeply that he wanted to cry – but he couldn't – not yet .

Harry was at his side with two steps and held him, he buried his face into the familiar chest and inhaled deeply.

“What is it? Can I help?“

“He loves you.“ Saying it out loud made it even worse. Harry snorted.”He has a funny way of showing that.“

Draco couldn’t help but laugh helplessly – Harry was so oblivious.

“He acts up because he is jealous.“

“What?“

“He is in love with you, as in he wants to be in my position, but knows that he can´t. And he is acting up because he can't stand seeing us together. It is not the house, not your kids, nothing but the fact that he is hurting and there is nothing I can do that will make this better.”

Harry held on to his trembling lover, trying to wrap his head around the words that he had just heard but couldn't truly comprehend. He was almost forty and Scorpius, fifteen going on sixteen how was it possible that this had happened? He wracked his brain if he had ever indicated that he saw more in Scorpius than in other students, but couldn't find anything.

Draco opened his mouth and said something – it took Harry a while to understand what he was hearing, but then panic and anger seized him.

“Stop this nonsense right there! Don´t even think about taking the easy way out, you coward! What do you think will happen if you break up with me now? Yes Scorp won't have to see us both together anymore, but he will have to deal with you being heartbroken, and he will feel guilty for it. And he still won´t have a chance to be with me! Do you really think that I could fall in love with your son? I love him, yes I do, even though he behaves like a prat and does everything thinkable to prove himself unlovable, but I still love him like another son. He has been a wonderful kid and I am so sorry that he is hurting, but I could never be in love with him, because I am in love with you, and you are the only Draco Malfoy in the world. Do you want him to think that he just has to snap his fingers and you'll jump? You know better than that, Draco! Have you said anything to him, about this?“

Draco shook his head, breathing in and out as if he needed to center himself. “I am so sorry, Harry, I just don't know how to handle this right now. Of course I don't want to break up with you and it wouldn't solve the problem either.“ He began to pace in the kitchen. “I just have to admit I was too shocked to properly react. Scorpius knows that he can´t make such a request and expect to get away with it. He knows that although he matters most to me in just about all cases, I have a right to my own life, and that he can't dictate my love life to his whims. Or at least I think he knows that.”

Harry frowned and started to speak, but Draco beat him to it.

“I know during the last few weeks Scorpius has come across like a spoiled whiny prat, who is used to getting what he wants and just now realizing that life won't always play out like he wants it to. But think back, Harry, is that really the impression you had while teaching him?”

Draco saw that Harry had to think about his words for a while, but then with a sigh he shook his head.

“No, Scorpius has always appeared to be a well balanced kid, painfully shy and withdrawn, but not spoiled rotten or used to getting his way all the time.”

Draco smiled – a sad but relieved smile.

“See! So I know that I have to talk to him, hopefully when he is a bit more approachable, because right now I don't think there is a chance of getting through to him. How can I let him know that I understand his pain and anger and want to be there for him, when all he can see is that I am the one causing this pain? Because he knows I won't leave you for him, no matter how awful he behaves or how many tantrums he throws.”

“Apart from having an insane moment five minutes ago!” Harry growled, took Draco and shook him gently. “You hear me? I won't let you go just because you think this is the only solution! Scorpius will be leaving in six weeks and then we have a year to figure out what to do. Right now we will give him space and if he needs to spread his wings and stay away for a while to heal, then you will let him, do you understand?”

Draco looked at Harry - “What are you saying? Do you think he should leave for a while?” 

“No, Draco, I want him here as much as my own kids, but I have a feeling that he doesn't want to be here, that he needs to find a way to deal with this pain on his own terms, and that the point of having to let go might be coming sooner for him that for our other kids. The door will always be open but he needs to come back because he wants to, not because you are forcing him.”

Draco looked at him so forlorn that Harry didn't really know how to react. If it had been the other way around, if Albus had been the one thinking himself in love with Draco – Harry shuddered, but soldiered on in his quest to make this right again.

“Look, you gave Scorpius roots to grow for the last fifteen years and he has grown into a wonderful human being that is hurting right now, but you also need to give him wings to fly, to reach other horizons and to heal. Sometimes letting go of what you want is the only unselfish thing you can do. And one day the hurt will heal and he can look at this as his family again. We will talk to him about this, and see where he has got the idea from that he is in love with me. He certainly has done a good job of hiding any positive feelings about me.”

Curling up in Harry’s arms, he allowed himself to cry in a rare moment of weakness. He cried for his son, for himself, and the choice that he wouldn't make because for once in his life he wanted to be selfish and keep his own happiness. He had waited for so long to be loved like this, that he couldn’t let go of the man who loved him in return. He just hoped that one day Scorpius would find someone to make him as happy, and that he would find it in himself to come home.

He knew that a confrontation was inevitable, but right now he needed Harry to hold him and to give him strength. His son needed him, he needed his guidance and help, and he would have to find a way to heal that hurt without adding more. To be honest, he had no idea how to go about it.

Little did they know that Scorpius had sat at the top of the stairs and listened to the entire conversation.

Sneaking back into his room and writing a message to his great-aunt – hoping she wouldn't ask too many questions, was done almost without a thought.

The next day at breakfast, his eagle owl came back with the simple reply:

> Dear Scorpius,
> 
> You are always welcome here. If your father agrees, you may of course spend the rest of the holidays here at Lake Tahoe with me. The weather is beautiful and you will be truly able to relax.
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Aunt Andromeda

He showed the letter to his father and said in a calm and collected manner, “I hope you will agree to my request to leave this house and spend the rest of my vacation in the United States. I know I haven´t been easy to live with and I would imagine you will be glad to have me out of the house.” He refused to meet Harry's eyes and only focused on his father.

“Are you sure?” The quiet and pained voice cut deep into his heart, but he reflected what he had heard the night before and knew that it was the only possible solution. He had to put as much distance between himself and them if he wanted to have any chance at healing. 

He looked at his father, and realised that he hadn't said a kind word to either one of them since he had stepped foot into this house. Tears welled up in his eyes and he blinked them forcefully away.

Harry’s voice cut through the tension that was thick around them.

“Do you really think that running away will solve anything?”

Of course Harry had to treat him like a child, hadn't he been the one to suggest that he removed himself from this situation? And thus Scorpius lashed out.

“I know you think that I am not capable of really loving you, Harry because I am just a teenager, and of course only the grown-ups know that love is built on compromise and has to grow. Of course you think that all I can feel is lust for you.” Scorpius eyes were flashing. “Do you know what I love about you? I love that you see me, or at least you used to see me; everyone else out there simply sees Draco Malfoy’s son. You were the first one who even knew my name, who deemed it important enough to call me Scorpius instead of only the young Malfoy! You were the only one to realise that I am not like my father.”

A helpless shrug underlined the confusing words that wrenched themselves out of his mouth.

“I love Quidditch but I couldn't even try out because all they would allow me to try for was Seeker and I hate that position. People are like: oh, you are only talented in potions because your father was. You saw that I was working on it on my own, on my own time, because I liked it, but I am beginning to feel that no matter what I do, Father will always have been there first!” 

He tried to keep his emotions in check, but it proved too much. Like a dam that had burst.

“And then - the icing on the cake - he tells me that he is in love with you too, and that you will be moving in with each other. Once again I am nothing more than a cheap copy of Draco Malfoy.”

The self-loathing that was written so clearly on the young face, made Harry’s heart clench, but he knew they had to listen to this.

“Everywhere I go, I get told just how much I look like him, how much I am just like him and I hate it! Why do you think I dyed my hair blue? Because I am so loyal to my house? No, because I just wanted to be seen as myself, and I can't be that in Hogwarts or even in England I am beginning to think. I know that I have two more years that I have to stay here, but as soon as I am finished, I will be leaving this country, and if my father has any love for me he will let me go.”

Scorpius was crying openly for the first time since he had stepped into this house and he just couldn't stand it any longer, all of the pent up frustration and anger that had been building for years finally erupting.

“Scorpius.” Harry's voice was kinder than he thought he was capable of being. ”I believe that you feel a strong physical attraction towards me, and I also believe that you feel a connection with me because I noticed just how lonely you were.”

A sigh escaped his lips, and the teen seemed to shrink into himself further.

Harry looked at the teenager before him, saw the hunched shoulders and the attempt to curl in on himself, and he ached for the young man in front of him, who had somehow become so misguided. How bad must Scorpius feel that rather than facing up to his feelings of inferiority, he had swallowed it all down and had allowed it to fester so much.

“I know that you believe yourself to be in love with me, and you feel that you have no chance with me because you aren't Draco Malfoy but merely a copy, and from what you said a cheap one at best. But that is not the reason I could never fall in love with you.”

Scorpius raised his head, trying not to show how much the words hurt him.

“Your father has always known how to get under my skin; he knows me inside out. He even understands me better than I understand myself, because he realized long before I did that I needed to have a family first. I needed to have people around me who love me purely for who I am, just Harry. We have a history together. We have been in each other’s life since we were eleven.”

Harry was ruffling his hair in agitation.

“He loves me enough to put my happiness first. And while I respect that you believe that what you are feeling is love, let me tell you that I won't ever love you in this way, that I love your father. He is what I need to be happy, and that has nothing to do with his physical appearance.” 

Draco smiled at these words because they were true. Yes, he had been attracted to Harry long before Harry had met him at the bridge, and he had known that Harry was a person who would be well suited to him in interests and mutual experiences, but he had also known that Harry needed to feel normal, and that he needed to come to terms with his attraction to him on his own terms.

“Even if that meant he would never be with you?“Scorpius’s voice was quiet and hoarse.

Draco answered, “Even if that meant I would never be with him. Because love means that you put another person’s happiness before your own; it means sometimes taking a backseat and watching without making the other person feel guilty or hurt about their life choices. Love means you ask yourself what you can do for the other person, and when you love like that – you receive love in return. Love can also be selfish, and it can be cruel, and yes, it can hurt terribly.”

“Then you must think that I am a horrible person, because I can't love either of you very much.”

“No“ 

They both said it at the same time.

“Scorpius.“ That was Harry. ”I think you are hurting, and I think you are hurting far more from the experiences you had at Hogwarts than the fact that I don´t want to be with you.“

A shrug was the answer to that.

“Why didn't you tell me how bad it was for you?“ Draco gently inquired.

Scorpius looked at him.

“What good would it have done? I tried telling you after the first year, and you just said that it would get better after a while, but it didn't and I didn't want to bother you too much with the divorce and everything going on.“

Draco thought back and felt a huge headache coming on. He felt like the worst parent on earth. 

“To be honest – I really felt it would get better once you had settled in more. I remember that I had been really uncomfortable at Hogwarts after the first year, especially after Dumbledore had shown such blatant favoritism towards a certain house --“

Here Harry shoved his elbow into Draco’s side, Draco returned that with a raised eyebrow, and continued talking, unimpressed.

“that I bugged Father relentlessly during the summer that I wanted to go to Beauxbaton, until my mother put her foot down. Which was just as well, because in second year I made friends and forgot all about it. When you stopped saying anything, I assumed you had settled in. I am sorry I didn't see how unhappy you were. Do you still feel that you would be happier in another school?“ Draco didn´t say what he thought out loud at that moment (that a change in schools would only move the problem somewhere else).

Scorpius turned away and looked at the forest behind the cottage.

“Unless that school is not in Europe, I don´t think I can escape from being compared to you at all.“

Harry dropped into the conversation again.

"You know, when I came to Hogwarts all I heard was -you look so much like James and you are just like him, and when I became Seeker they all said – oh a Quidditch hero, just like your father. Seeing as my father was dead though - for me it was even worse trying to live up to all their expectations. Can you imagine how I felt when I found out that my father was anything but perfect?" 

"Relieved?" The dry answer made Harry chuckle, although he was aware that this probably wasn't the right way to react to the teenager.

"No, I was angry – I was so angry at having been compared to a bully in my eyes, that I lashed out at everyone around me, and I tried to prove even harder that I wasn't like my father. In the end, that amongst other things, got my godfather killed." His voice dropped. “I learned the hard way that nobody’s perfect, including my parents. So I had to get over myself and accept who I was and who they were. It is hard but we all have to go through this.”

Draco stepped back into the conversation.

"I know that you think we don´t understand how you feel, and I know that you have felt terribly lonely – so you have latched onto the first person who showed you an inkling of understanding and interest, but you have a choice now.”

Harry stated calmly: ”You can run away, and I think I agree with your father that if you truly wish to spend the rest of the holidays with your Aunt in the United States, you can do that."

Scorpius looked at his father disbelievingly. The sad smile that he got in return felt like a knife to his heart again. "You would really let me leave?“

Draco answered: "If that is the only way that you can get over this and one day look at Harry and I without hatred, then yes, of course I will let you go.“

Minutes passed and they both held their breath.

"You said there was a choice – what is the other option?“

"You can stay here with us, and we will try to work through this together as a family, because I very much would like all of us to become a family. Because if you believe it or not, I do love you and I would like to see you happy.“

The silence that reigned for minutes on end was excruciating. Scorpius said nothing until it broke out of him:

"You are wrong – I guess I don´t hate you. You are my father – I can't _hate_ hate you, I love you too much to hate you. But I hate looking at the two of you together. I hate seeing that love between you, knowing I won't ever be that person for you, Harry. And I am envious, because I just want someone to see me, is that really so much to ask for?“

"No that isn't too much to ask for.“ Draco quietly said, "but you have to understand that Harry and I won't be able to stop looking at each other like that. We have waited almost twenty years to find this kind of love. And even for you, I can't break up with him.” 

The slight tremor in Draco’s voice showed how hard he was trying to hold on to his emotions.

“I tried – it was my first impulse to let go – just so you would be happy again. But Harry knew that we both would suffer in the end because neither one of us would be happy then. Scorpius - you know that giving in here would open pandemonium. I didn't raise you this way. I am still your father and I will act like it.” 

A tender smile flitted across his face, as Harry covered his hand with his slightly larger one.

“I want you to look at your own feelings, Scorp, and I don´t expect an answer right now, but I really want you to look at what you feel and ask yourself – do you really want Harry? Or do you want someone, who is of your own sexual orientation and who knows you, and basically could be anybody – and Harry just happened to be the first person to fit that bill?“

Scorpius deflated visibly.

"Maybe you can take some time today and just think about what we said. You can tell us your decision at dinner.“

They both left and closed the door quietly behind them.

It was quiet in the room, too quiet, and although Scorpius wanted to brood and think about the things he had heard that morning, it felt too suffocating.

He had to get out.

The forest behind the house held a small lake a slight way in, and he made his path through the shrubbery, allowing his mind to wander. When he settled at the shore, all of the tension seemed to drain out of him.

He picked up a skipping stone to pitch over the surface of the water, as it made him relax. Just like it had during his early years at Hogwarts, when the giant squid was the only company he had.

As he stood there, he pondered the words that wouldn't leave him alone.

Was Harry really just a substitute for someone of his own age? Because he was someone openly gay now and thus the possibility of being rejected felt smaller? 

A lot of good that had done him.

“Not like he would have wanted me anyway.”

“You know talking to yourself is a sign of insanity.”

Al dropped down next to him.

“You know at first I thought you were like Lily – she is truly happy ensconced in a book, and doesn't need to be around people to be happy, always has been a bit odd, that one. But you are unhappy and lonely, and therefore I think you are a huge idiot.”

Scorpius looked up sharply, but didn't say anything.

Al heaved a sigh that could have moved the earth.

"Look, I know the houses don´t mingle much, but do you really think that nobody would have wanted to be your friend? I mean okay, first year you had it rough, and people were mean, I get where you are coming from. But do you really think that you are the only one being compared to their dads?"

The sneer on Scorpius’s face was so very Malfoy, that Al had to fight to keep his face straight.

"Easy to say when your father is a hero, and mine the epitome of all evil... not my words."

"Bullshit - Albus Potter, why are your grades not better, your father was such a bright kid? Albus, you must play Seeker, it runs in the family. Albus why won't you join the duelling club? Albus this, Albus that - I KNOW what you have been through, alright?"

"I got hexed the first time I entered the library and every time after." The reply was dull, as if all fight had gone out of Scorpius all of a sudden.

"After the first year, trying to evade hexes and sneers, coming home to a dad who had been frazzled beyond belief because of the press, I tried - I tried telling him, but he didn't listen."

Scorpius ruffled his hair distractedly and continued talking. 

“And I guess I was tired of fighting. I know my dad loves me - but he just didn't get it. He had friends in school - but I didn't have anyone. Still don't."

Al sat there quietly, thinking that it was high time someone listened.

"Your dad was the first one to notice me."

Looking out over the pond, somehow made it easier to get all of this out.

"He looked at me, when we went to Hogwarts, and he recognised me when he began teaching. He even knew my name, not like the other teachers who always call me young Malfoy."

Al felt like he had swallowed a ball of lead. Sure the houses didn't mix much, but how had no one noticed just how lonely this blue-haired boy next to him was?

"You know, I thought he understood me, and that I finally had found someone who got me. I felt comfortable sitting in the classroom with him. “

“You felt like you belonged with him?”

“Yes, no, maybe – how do I explain this...” The agitation came back. “I felt like I had found my anchor, someone who liked me for myself, who didn´t blame me for looking like my father. And when he looked at me sometimes, I thought he had some interest in me.”

Al shuddered. “Okay, apart from the fact that we are talking about my dad here, which is just plain wrong --”

Scorpius wanted to jump up and leave but was stopped by a warm hand on his leg.

“Sit down, Blue! You will listen!”

He gaped at that, but obeyed, God knows why.

“Look, I don´t like to think about my dad that way – God, I don´t like to think about your dad that way either, and that has nothing to do with gender – it is just they are...” Here, Al struggled to find a diplomatic word but burst out at the end. “They are so bloody old!”

“They are barely forty!”

“And that is old when you think about your own age! Godric, you are barely sixteen, not twenty-six! And even then I would think you had a Daddy complex if you hooked up with a guy forteen years older than you!”

“What business of yours is it if I hook up with someone older?”

Al raised his head as if praying for patience. “None. Apart from the fact that you are making all of us miserable, because the one you want to hook up with is fucking your father.” 

Scorpius made an odd choking sound.

“Look, I know it’s not easy to look at them, but don´t you think that you should look around in your own age group?”

“Because there are so many gay guys at Hogwarts – just gagging for a Malfoy.”

Oh the dramatics - yes, Scorpius was his dad’s son, not that he would ever admit that.

“Okay, maybe not that, but I know at least one guy who would like to be at least friends, if you refrain from biting his head off?”

“I am not your charity case! I manage just fine!”

“Look,” Al started another attempt. “Tomorrow we are all going to floo over to my gran’s house. We all play Quidditch just for fun. Maybe if you didn´t hide so much behind your books, you'd realize we are a decent bunch of people. One of my cousins is even in your house. You know, Rose?”

Yes he knew Rose – she was the one that had merely frowned when he had attempted to join the library study group, but she hadn't really made an attempt to get to know him either.

“Come on, what do you have to lose? You can still leave for California in a week if you really hate it!”

Al wondered a bit why he was so adamant that Scorpius should stay – all he really knew was that he really didn't want to see “Blue,” as he had dubbed Scorp – well quite so blue. 

“Okay – but I make no promises to your father.”

“That is all I ask. I know it hurts, but maybe you can work your frustration off otherwise?”

A frown found its way onto Scorp’s face – what now?

“How do you suggest I do that? Oh wise one!”

“Come running with me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Not running as in running away, but running like I do every morning.”

“It is a wonder you always win the house cup. You are all brawn and no brain.” But the retort lacked the sting that Al had come to expect. He shoved his sulky companion into the side but underestimated his strength, so that Scorpius lost his balance and toppled head first into the pond. Spluttering, he broke the surface only to find that Al had jumped into the water right after him.

“What did you do that for?”

“You looked as if you needed to cool down. Question is though – are you an eagle or a duck?”

The laughter in Al's eyes was catching, and so Scorpius found himself chasing Al for the better part of the morning. Out of breath, he collapsed later on the shore, soaked to the bone and exhausted but at the same time he felt lighter than he had in years.

The outstretched hand that pulled him to his feet again took him by surprise.

“You like keeping me off balance.” His tone was slightly accusatory.

Al acknowledged this with a shrug and the offhand remark.

“If that is what it takes,” and he wouldn't explain what he meant no matter how forceful Scorpius demanded an explanation.

Only when the house came back into view, Scorpius realised that he hadn't thought about the hurt for a couple of hours.

Stepping into the kitchen he saw them, blond and dark head bent together talking softly, and although the ache was back full-force - for the first time he didn't feel like spitting vitriol to make them jump apart.

Al announced their presence. “Don´t mind Blue and me. We will just grab a sandwich and be gone in a jiffy.”

Scorpius just nodded, grabbed the offered lunch and retreated to his room.

Al stayed in the kitchen. When the disbelieving stares appeared to burn a hole into his head, he looked up.

“What? You think you are the only ones feeling bad?”

Draco started – as if he wanted to say something, but Al beat him to it.

“Look, I think what Blue needs right now is a friend and I am trying to see if I can be that for him. I don´t think that what he has been doing is great or even right, and yes he owes you an apology. But I guess he is alright once you get through all that haughtiness serving as a shield.”

Harry looked at his son.

“When did you get so wise?”

Al replied quietly. “I don´t think myself wise. If anything I have been an idiot for not realising sooner that he has been lovesick and not just a giant prick.”

With that he left his father to his own devices and picked up what he had left this morning. The dreaded potions summer assignment wasn't going to finish itself.

\-------------------  
Later that evening, Draco knocked at his son's door.

“Come in,” was the quiet answer.

“Hey.” Draco felt insecure, what if Scorpius had decided to leave? He would stand by his word, but he would miss his son terribly. Looking at his son with the bright blue hair, he was reminded of Tonks and a soft and sad smile painted his face.

“So…”

“So?”

“Now what?”

“To be honest, Scorpius, I wish I had an answer, but I don´t.”

Scorpius looked at his father, really looked at him for the first time in weeks, saw the fine lines that had burrowed deep into his face, saw the shadows and the strained smile. His father looked tired and defeated, but tried to smile for him nonetheless. He felt bad.

“Did you have a good day?” His father´s voice tore him from his musings.

“Al is all right – although I wonder how much of his attempt at friendship is for mine or his father’s well-being.”

“What is to say, that he doesn´t have both in mind?”

“Nothing.”

Silence stretched between them. Scorpius suddenly burst out into the silent room.

“I still think it would be better to leave.” Draco felt like he was suffocating – was this it? Was he losing his son now?

“But Al has convinced me to stay for tomorrow and visit the Burrow with him.”

The whoosh of breath that left his father made Scorpius look up. “I still don´t want to look at you and Harry. I don´t have an answer to your question either.”

“Scorpius...”

Draco knew that he couldn't push for more at this point in time and simply nodded.

“For what it is worth – I wish I could have been a better father to you.”

As the door shut behind him, he only caught the last sentence. “Maybe you would have needed another son for that.”

Harry waited in the living room, as Draco dropped onto the couch with a sigh.

“He'll stay for a while.”

“Well, that takes more strength than I have seen so far in him, I am glad he won’t run away.”

“I think Al got through to him somehow. Maybe tomorrow will be good for him.” Draco curled up next to his lover.

“Merlin, I hope so – the kid deserves a break, even though he has been a right prat over the last few days. Then again that should have been an indicator, if nothing else, you behaved exactly the same when something was bothering you.”

“Hey!”

“Nothing but the truth, and now shut up and kiss me will you? Chances are we won't get yelled at for once.”

\------------------------------

The next morning dawned bright and sunny. It promised to be a perfect day for a Quidditch match.

Al had all but dragged Scorpius down for breakfast, afraid that the progress he had made the day before would have faded overnight.

But to his relief, Scorpius kept quiet apart from a “good morning” that might as well not have been said at all, so low was the tone. He didn´t address Harry, and turned his head away from the hands that rested on the table intertwined, but he bit his tongue.

Al jumped up after breakfast, not wanting to stay in the tense atmosphere longer than necessary.

“Well, we'll be off to Gran, promise you´ll come by later?”

Harry nodded and promised quietly that they would drop in.

“Come on, Blue!”

And with that, Scorpius found himself being dragged to the fireplace. Al grabbed the powder and yelled clearly: “The Burrow.”

Not to be called a spoilsport, Scorpius followed through. He could always leave if it got too bad.

He found himself in the quaintest kitchen he had ever seen, and was enveloped in a warm hug before he came to.

“Gran! Let the boy live!”

Scorpius was embarrassed, but tried a smile when the Weasley Matriarch told him in a no nonsense way:

“I am Molly and all of the kids out here are my grandchildren. I hope you allow me to treat you like I treat all of their friends!”

“Of course, MrsWeasley!”

“Oh stop it, as I said I am Molly!” She bustled around in the kitchen, making tea for an army or so it appeared.

“Oh and by the way, your name is Scorpius?”

“Yes, Madam!”

Al laughed. “Don´t worry, Gran – we call him Blue, it’s the hair, you know?”

Molly looked at him and smiled – “Yes that name suits you better! Now out with you – they are about to pick the teams!”

Scorpius was overwhelmed by the kind reception. Somehow he had thought, because he had been such a prat during the last few weeks, that Harry’s family would have received him with more wariness. But no one even addressed him with unkind words.

Once they stepped out, Al and he were ambushed by a bushy haired girl that Scorpius recognized as Rose. But somehow summer had appeared to delete the Rose he knew from Ravenclaw, who was always studious and serious about her studies with someone who talked a mile an hour!

“Oh wow, now that is House spirit! I love the colour, it suits you so much!” Rose squealed!

She squealed! Scorpius was floored.

Al caught his astonished face and burst out laughing.

“Rose, sweetheart, don´t scare Blue, otherwise he might just run away again and it has been so hard to drag him out!”

Rose frowned at that.

“Oh is it because I don´t talk much in school? But you don´t either?”

Scorpius sneered at that.

“It isn't as if you lot are busy wanting to talk to me! I recall the plethora of hexes that had been thrown my way the first year...”

Rose blushed scarlet at that.

“But those were sixth and seventh-year students and then you were always gone, and I told the teachers, but they didn't do anything either. Said it couldn't be true, and even if it were, your family has done awful stuff... So I told mum and then Uncle Harry took care of you, but you didn't approach us anymore so I thought you didn't want anything to do with me anyway.” She turned away but Scorpius caught the tears brimming in her eyes.

“Oh fuck!” Somehow he really had a talent for getting things wrong. But why had Harry never said anything?

Al snorted.

“See, that is what happens when your mom is the smartest witch of the century! You get so desperate to live up to that expectation that you bury yourself in books and forget common sense. She could have just approached you instead, but Rose needs to be dragged away from the books once in a while.”

Scorpius snorted inelegantly. “So is this another one of those _we know_ parts? I guess I see what you are trying to tell me, but come on, your parents are heros and adored, for me it was step one toe out of line and get hexed.”

Rose whirled around at that, and for a second it appeared that she was channeling someone else.

“Yes it is a _we know_ thing, so you can either pull your head out of your arse and play Quidditch with us, or you choose to remain on your high horse, Blue!”

“Well if you ask so nicely I guess I have no choice but to play Quidditch with you!” Subconsciously, Scorpius had lifted one eyebrow and grinned at her.

Al smiled at the transformation the face before him underwent - Blue looked happy and a bit mischievous, an expression that suited him well.

Rose was mollified: “So which position do you want to play? I know Seeker is out, Morag went around with rabbits ears for 2 weeks in our second year because of his stupidity – wasn't that it?”

Scorpius laughed. “Yes he deserved it though, the big oaf! I wanted to play chaser, but he wouldn't let me.”

“Well,” Rose tilted her head, intrigued. “You know that the team is a chaser short at the start of the term right? If you really are good, I will talk to Tiana, our captain. Then you can try out again.”

“Oi – can we start playing today or are you two going to talk the afternoon away?”

Al was shouting at them from his broom.

Rose and Scorpius exchanged a look.

“You are on, Gryffindor!” And with that the chase began. Blue, as they called him, gave into the rush of flying, feeling free as a bird, leaving the old Scorpius earthbound.

He didn't see the incredulous look that Rose and Al shared, staring after him as he zoomed over the field, he didn´t see Draco and Harry step out of the house and look up into the sky. All that mattered was feeling the wind in his hair, and chasing the quaffle that his opponent still had in his clutches. He whooped with joy and turned to them.

“Come on, Al. Who is the duck now?”

Rose threw Al a look.

“Don´t ask!” Al answered with laughter, and gave chase.

Maybe spreading your wings to fly didn´t mean that he had to run away. Maybe he had begun to fly the moment he had decided that he would stand up for himself, and that no one would ever see him as “only“ Draco Malfoy’s son. 

Maybe staying and trying to find a way to fit into this family would require more strength than he thought he had, but here - right now, feeling Rose’s eyes on him – speculative and wondering, and Al’s friendly face turned towards him as he flew through the air - he felt like the eagle that represented his house for the first time in his entire life.

He had been given roots to grow long ago, and if he was honest with himself he still had a place at his father’s side - not that he wanted that very much right now.

He much rather wanted to learn how to fly – truly free – just Blue.

Once Hogwarts began again he would try out as a chaser. He was pretty sure Rose would put a word in for him with the captain. And if she didn't - well he would make them see. After all, he was a Malfoy – and if they really almost always got their way, it was time to call upon a bit of his heritage.

His eyes then caught sight of Harry and Draco, standing together, heads bend close, absorbed in their discussion. It hurt - he wouldn't lie about it and it would continue to hurt for a while longer, if not forever in a corner of his soul, but one day maybe, he would look at them without anger or a feeling of betrayal. Although not today and not tomorrow. 

The Quaffle flew his way and he was torn from his musings – giving chase; he was too busy flying – instead of pondering life’s unfair ways.

Al laughed and yelled. “Now, Blue, are you the eagle or a duck? Come on!“

Harry followed his stepson’s flight with his eyes.

“He flies just like you did, before you began playing Seeker.“

“I certainly won't tell him – but I always liked the Chaser position better, I only played Seeker because I wanted to beat you.“

“Well seeing as he is becoming his own person – I am sure he will not bend to anyone’s ideas about that.“

Harry smiled fondly up into the sky. Draco tore him from his musings again.

“Why does it have to hurt so much to watch him grow up? Why does it have to be so painful for him?“

“I guess the roots he has through the family history are so deeply entrenched in the earth, that he had to be shaken to the core to find the wings kids need to fly and grow up. And uprooting a tree is painful.“

Draco gaped at Harry in a definitely un-Malfoy-ish way.

“Who are you and what have you done to my boyfriend? That was decidedly too deep for you!“

“Ah, you love me, and maybe you are just rubbing off on me!“

Harry laughed and ducked from the swat he almost received from his lover.

He caught him in a hug and drew Draco close to him. “I love you and I will always take care of you, Draco, and that includes your son as well!”

Draco allowed Harry to draw him into his embrace. It was nice to have someone shoulder the responsibility with him, and now they had a chance to actually grow together as a family.

“Cut it out, you two, we are trying to play a game here,“ Al yelled.

Scorpius just called “Leave them alone – you have a Snitch to catch! Not that you know much about that!“

But the teasing tone and the flushed cheeks said that he was enjoying himself.

Blue was flying.


End file.
